Every Other Weekend
by T-Kiwi02
Summary: Zora skips out on getting ice cream with the cast every other Friday evening. Why? One-shot.


_**Okay, so I got this idea from listening to the song "Every Other Weekend" by Reba McIntire and Kenny Chesney. I absolutely love this song so much, and I listened to it the entire time I spent writing this one-shot. So anyway, I hope you all enjoy!(:**_

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"**Every Other Weekend"**

It was Friday once more. It was the same as always for Nico, Grady, Sonny, and Tawni. They arrived at the studio, rehearsed and filmed their sketches, had some ice cream, and went home. The only thing that changed for them was whoever did the sign off – this week it was Grady's turn. They had gotten out of costume and were hanging in the prop house eating their frozen desserts. To them, it was just another Friday.

For Zora though, it was not just another Friday. It was the second Friday of the month. She passed on having ice cream with her friends and was spending her time in the sarcophagus – waiting. Her bag waited for her outside of it. She could hear the voices of her friends, they were slightly muffled, but she could hear them nonetheless.

"Where's Zora?" she heard Sonny ask.

Zora was not surprised Sonny asked this. She was still new, despite the fact she'd been on So Random for a few months now. There was still a lot she was learning, and needed to remember. There was a moment of silence between the four before Tawni answered Sonny's question.

"It's _that_ weekend again."

"Oh."

It was understandable that Sonny had forgotten. She had only found out about it two weeks ago. The last time Zora was absent from the after show ice cream. Sonny had asked the exact same question that night. It shocked the other three – they were so used to Zora skipping out every other week that they had forgotten that Sonny didn't even know why she did this.

"_She's in the sarcophagus," Nico answered. _

_Sonny gave him a quizzical look. "Why? She didn't hide in there last week after the show." It didn't make sense to her. For one, Zora loved ice cream. But Zora never hid during their ice cream time; at least Sonny didn't think so._

"_She does that every other Friday," Grady said, taking a bite of his chocolate ice cream. _

"_Really?" Sonny was shocked. She always noticed this kind of thing. "Why?"_

"_Every other Friday she goes to her dad's house for the weekend," Tawni explained. She set her strawberry treat on the table beside her. "We're not sure why she hides, but she's done it for the last three years. For as long as the show's been running."_

"_So, her parents are divorced then?"_

_Tawni nodded. "It was right before we filmed the first episode. At first she kept to herself for a while, but as time went on she got better. I'm not sure why she hides herself on those nights, but she does."_

_Sonny only nodded her head. She understood. Not from personal experience or anything, she just understood. _

Zora could feel the awkwardness between the cast, even from inside her hiding spot. She felt weird herself. She felt weird because they felt weird. It wasn't even weird, really. Zora felt guilty. She didn't want her friends to feel bad for her. It wasn't their fault; they had no part in it. Zora didn't even have a part in it. She had been told numerous times that it wasn't because of her that her parents divorced. It was just something that happened.

She jumped when she felt a knock on the sarcophagus. "Zora?" She pushed the door open slightly. Sonny was standing there, holding Zora's bag. "Your mom's here."

"Thanks." Zora took the bag, closing the door to her hiding spot behind her. She gave a short goodbye to her friends before leaving the prop house.

Outside Zora spotted the red van that waited for her. She threw her bag into the backseat and buckled herself in. She talked with her mom and told her about her day, and the sketches, just like every other day of the week. Her mom enjoyed hearing about her daughter's day, as any other mother would. After their time of talking, they remained silent the rest of the ride. Zora would look over at her mother occasionally. She loved going to her father's for the weekend, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for her mom. Two days without her daughter in the house wasn't long, but it must have to be lonely at times, Zora thought.

They arrived to the park, where they saw a smaller black car with a man leaning against it. They pulled alongside the vehicle, on the opposite curb. Zora unbuckled herself and opened her door, running over to the man waiting with his arms open. With no effort the man lifted his eleven year old in an embrace. Across the one way street he watched his ex-wife pull out the duffel bag containing the things Zora would need for her weekend at her dad's. He set his daughter down and walked over to get the bag.

Zora held the backseat door open and watched her parents. They talked, but only a little. Their faces remained the same – expressionless. Their eyes though, were a completely different story. Zora was known for reading someone's feelings through their eyes. When it was first announced that Sonny would be joining the cast of So Random, she could see the jealousy in Tawni's eyes. Every time Sonny talked about how much she 'hated' Chad, Zora could see otherwise in her friend's eyes – that Sonny really liked him, whether the feelings were as strong as Tawni said they were or not.

Her parents were no different. She had only known them her entire life. She could read their eyes exceptionally well – and their eyes showed the same emotions every time they met. They missed each other terribly, and regretted their decision to separate, but the damage was done. Questions would arise if they admitted their feelings, they were afraid of the possible consequences it would have on their daughter. They had gone so long as a broken family, that it would possibly confuse and upset Zora if they suddenly got back together.

Zora knew how they felt though. She was young, and didn't know much about love, but she could see in her parents' eyes that they still deeply loved each other. She didn't hate the way her family was, even though at night she would sometimes wish they were a whole family again. She was happy that her parents were still in touch, and that she still got to spend time with her dad. Zora was grateful for this even, because she knew that there were families worse off, where kids never saw or even met their other parent. Zora only hated that she knew how her parents still loved each other and that they didn't act on it. It upset her that she couldn't figure out why they wouldn't.

Her mother waved goodbye to her daughter from the van before driving off. Zora watched her father's longing eyes watch the van disappear around the corner. She buckled herself into the passenger seat and her father started the car. Zora held on to the few moments that her family was whole before telling her father about her day, as she had earlier with her mother. She may not have understood her parents' reasons for putting themselves through this pain every week, and might never know the reasons. She only knew that for fifteen minutes the three were a family again, every other weekend.

**Fin.**

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_**So, that's the fic. I hope you enjoyed and thanks to all those who read it. You are awesome! I also truly appreciate reviews/comments. Thanks again!(: **_


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